Is duckling poop dangerous?

[atucker]

Hi!
I have recently purchased 6 white pekins and I am in love! They are 2 weeks old and growing faster than I expected lol! I plan to move them outside to the big coop once it is completed this weekend.
In the mean time, they are in a big plastic container with a heat lamp. I am using a baking sheet with cooling rack on top to put their water on (BEST THING I EVER SAW) to cut down on wet pine shavings and poop! Boy are they stinky little guys in my basement!
I am currently mucking out their tub 3 times a day, wiping everything, cleaning everything and refilling everything. I don't mind it so much and I wear gloves as a scoop up the yuck but my boys and I love handling the ducks. Duck articles are scares and all opinionated so I was hoping to get some answers right from owners. Am I going to get sick from breathing in the area when cleaning their poop?! are they really more dangerous than chicken poop? We wash up after being with our chickens and the ducks but should I be taking extra steps?

Just want to make sure I do what is healthiest for my ducks, my boys and myself!

 

[WhiteTreeOfGondor]

I only finished brooding my first 10 ducklings a few months ago, but I did a lot of research first and never read anything about duckling poop being dangerous. I kept them in the house near the main living area and cleaned the brooder out twice a day without gloves. No one in my family got sick.
I used a small tub with hardware cloth stretched across to put their water on and yeah, that definitely made a difference keeping their brooder...if not dry, then less wet.

Enjoy your ducklings! They are a lot of fun

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

If duckling poop was dangerous I would be dead years ago. I actually fell in the broader once and rolled around a bit before I could get out Benn raising the little stinkers for over 5 years. That soiled bedding is good for your plants. Unlike chicken poop no need to compost first. I would practice good hygiene and try not to eat the poop

 

[Isadora]

I have never heard that duck poop is dangerous. Obviously we don't want to go around eating animal feces, but like you said you are being fastidious about cleaning out the brooder. I sure as heck don't clean it out every day.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

If duckling poop was dangerous I would be dead years ago. I actually fell in the broader once and rolled around a bit before I could get out Benn raising the little stinkers for over 5 years. That soiled bedding is good for your plants. Unlike chicken poop no need to compost first. I would practice good hygiene and try not to eat the poop

I'm laughing with you, not at you.

 

[Quatie]

Likely the idea is bird poop can be dangerous, since bird poop can contain salmonella. But ducklings are unlikely to have ever been exposed to it. Most of that scare would be if you ingest contaminated poop. Washing after handling ducks is all you need to do.

I definitely would be dead if it was dangerous in any other way. When treating my Pekin for bumblefoot, she let loose on me . I swear she was aiming for me, because she waited till I was right behind her .

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

I'm laughing with you, not at you.

Oh laughing at me is quite alright. It took me almost two minutes to get out. The ducklings were screaming their heads off too. I wish it had been filmed.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Oh laughing at me is quite alright. It took me almost two minutes to get out. The ducklings were screaming their heads off too. I wish it had been filmed.

That would be viral ...